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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Have you met the new head ________________?
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  8. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  9. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  22. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  23. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. wind — moving air
  3. drill — the tool
  4. net — in sport
  5. coach — pulled by horses
  6. march — the month
  7. racket — a loud noise
  8. drill — army training
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. wind — moving air
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. net — for catching
  14. march — the month
  15. land — ground
  16. march — music
  17. rock — to move gently
  18. land — to come down
  19. land — a country
  20. drill — a practice
  21. rock — music
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. rock — a stone
  24. net — after costs

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com